A lecture on culture and health with Töres Theorell, Professor Emeritus, highlighting how singing can benefit health development. Additionally, issues regarding musical training for children and the effect of listening to music after a stroke will be touched upon. There will also be music performed by singers from various local choirs.

Location: Storbrunn Cultural Centre
Tickets: Free entrance
Book: Via storbrunnbiljetter@osthammar.se / 0173-86300
Organiser: Folkuniversitetet and Östhammars Municipality

Töres Theorell wants to highlight how singing could benefit health development. Firstly, there are immediate biological effects that, if repeated often, may have favourable effects in the longer term – for example, on the reward hormone (dopamine) and the bonding hormone (oxytocin). There may also be stimulation of constructive hormones, such as testosterone. Several of these effects are the same as those seen from participating in sports. However, in communal singing, aesthetic experiences and moments of ”flow” are added. The emotional effects of singing can also ”short-circuit” reasoning and thus facilitate changes in direction in life.
During the lecture, we will also touch upon more general musical issues such as musical training for children (which affects brain structure development) and the effect of listening to music after a stroke, which also leads to an increase in the number of connections, known as white matter, in the brain, visible on magnetic resonance imaging. A series of epidemiological studies in recent years from England, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland highlight the development of the ability to manage emotions and social processes, as well as lifespan. Regular participation in cultural activities genuinely extends life!

Töres Theorell is a medical doctor and has worked in cardiology, internal medicine, and social medicine. For many years, he was a professor of Psychosocial Medicine at the Karolinska Institute, where he researched the causes and mechanisms of stress. In his retirement, he lectures at institutions including the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.

Event information

Region

Östhammar municipality

Price

Free of charge

Organiser

Folkuniversitetet and Östhammar Municipality

Map

Link to map